Summer Walker

Summer Marjani Walker (born April 11, 1996)[2] is an American singer and songwriter. She is signed to LoveRenaissance and Interscope Records. Her commercial mixtape Last Day of Summer was released on October 19, 2018.[3] Her debut studio album, Over It was released on October 4, 2019 and received universal acclaim from critics.[4] The album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 chart with 134,000 album-equivalent units in its first full tracking week. Summer Walker made history when her debut album earned the biggest streaming debut ever for a female R&B artist.[5] Walker also was the recipient for 'Best New Artist' at the 2019 Soul Train Music Awards.

Summer Walker
Birth nameSummer Marjani Walker[1]
Born (1996-04-11) April 11, 1996
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • songwriter
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • piano
  • guitar
Years active2018–present
Labels
Associated acts
Websitesummerwalkermusic.com

Early life

Walker was born in Atlanta, Georgia to a British father and an American mother, who eventually divorced.[6] From 2016 to 2018, Walker had a small cleaning business, while she was simultaneously stripping in Atlanta. She taught herself how to play the guitar by watching tutorials on YouTube.[7]

Musical career

Walker was discovered by a woman who has the same name as her and works as the studio manager of an Atlanta-based label LoveRenaissance.[7] On October 19, 2018, Summer Walker released her debut commercial mixtape Last Day of Summer, supported by her lead single "Girls Need Love".[8] Her album contained her thoughts on love, doubt, and womanhood.[9] In late 2018, she went on tour with 6LACK on the From East Atlanta With Love Tour.[10] Following the success of her album, Apple Music named Summer Walker as its newest Up Next artist in 2019, and became the #8 R&B artist worldwide across Apple Music.[11] On January 25, 2019, she released her first EP titled CLEAR, consisting of four tracks of acoustic recordings.[12] On February 27, 2019 she released the remix to her song "Girls Need Love" with Drake.[13]

On August 23, 2019, Summer Walker released "Playing Games" as the first single for her debut studio album, Over It.[14] The song, which contains an interpolation of Destiny's Child's number-one hit "Say My Name" was produced by London on da Track. On September 12, 2019, Walker revealed that Over It would release on October 4 via LVRN/Interscope Records.[15] Along with her album announcement, she shared the official artwork. She will support Over It with her accompanying The First and Last Tour, which kicks off on October 20.[16] Due to her social anxiety, Walker canceled the remaining 20 out of 29 dates on the tour committing to 9 of them.[17] On November 17, 2019 Summer Walker won her first BET Soul Train Music Award for Best New Artist, she later received backlash from fans for her short speech and was accused of faking her social anxiety.[18]

Artistry

Walker has said that she draws inspiration from Amy Winehouse, Jimi Hendrix, and Erykah Badu.[19] Her sound has been described as slow groove R&B.

Discography
Main article: Summer Walker discography
  • Over It (2019)

Tours

Headlining
  • The First and Last Tour (2019)[20]

Awards and nominations

Soul Train Awards

Year Nominee / work Award Result
2019[21] Herself Best New Artist Won
Herself R&B/Soul Female Artist Nominated
"Girls Need Love (Remix)" Best Song of the Year Nominated

References
  1. "Summer Walker: Girl on the Rise". WVAU.
  2. "Summer Walker - BP Lyrics | Musixmatch". www-musixmatch-com.cdn.ampproject.org. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
  3. Johnson, Zoe. "Take A Walk With Summer Walker On The 'Last Day Of Summer'". Vibe. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  4. Wicker, Jewel (October 1, 2019). "Chartbreaker: Summer Walker Readies Star-Studded New Album After Drake Co-Sign". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  5. "Summer Walker's 'Over It' Earns Biggest Streaming Week Ever for an R&B Album by a Woman". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media, LLC.
  6. "Girls Need Love, Too: 4 Interesting Facts About "Session 32" Beauty Summer Walker". 93.9 WKYS radio.
  7. Kennedy, Gerrick D. (2019-10-21). "Summer Walker went from housekeeper to R&B it girl — and she's still a mystery". Los Angeles Times.
  8. P., Milca. "Summer Walker Officially Arrives With "Last Day Of Summer" Project". HotNewHipHop.
  9. "5 Times We Fell In Love With Summer Walker on Her 'Last Day of Summer' Debut". Ones to Watch. Retrieved 2019-05-06.
  10. "6LACK Announces World Tour Featuring Tierra Whack, Boogie & More". HotNewHipHop. 14 August 2018.
  11. "Summer Walker Named the First Apple Music Up Next Artist of 2019". Broadway World. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  12. P., Milca. "Summer Walker Shares Soulful "CLEAR" EP". HotNewHipHop.
  13. Blistein, Jon. "Hear Drake Drop First New Verse of 2019 on Summer Walker's 'Girls Need Love' Remix". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  14. "Summer Walker Releases New Song 'Playing Games'". ratedrnb.com. Retrieved 2019-09-17.
  15. "Summer Walker Announces Release Date for Debut Album". ratedrnb.com. Retrieved 2019-09-17.
  16. "Summer Walker Plots 'The First and Last Tour'". ratedrnb.com. Retrieved 2019-09-17.
  17. "Summer Walker cancels US gigs: 'I get tired, I get sad and it's just a lot'". BBC.
  18. "Summer Walker Addresses Critics Who Don't Believe She Has Social Anxiety". Essence.
  19. "5 Times We Fell In Love With Summer Walker on Her 'Last Day of Summer' Debut / Ones To Watch". Ones To Watch. Retrieved 2019-05-06.
  20. "Summer Walker Announces 35-City Tour & Drops Sultry "Playing Games" Single". HYPEBEAST. Retrieved 2019-09-17.
  21. "2019 Soul Train Awards". BET. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
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